Nintendo Stars subsidiary formed to handle video game movie adaptations

Nintendo has formed a new subsidiary to act as a middleman between film studios and the Japanese games company.

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Nintendo today announced the formation of Nintendo Stars, a new subsidiary that will oversee licensing of films and movies based on key Nintendo franchises. Big-budget adaptations such as the upcoming Super Mario Bros sequel and The Legend of Zelda movie will be under the purview of Nintendo Stars.

This branch is actually a former company, WarpStar Inc, which previously only handled the licensing of the Kirby IP. WarpStar will still handle Kirby alongside the new film business responsibilities. In fact, it's precisely because of WarpStar's experience in licensing out Kirby for decades that Nintendo assigned this role to the new subsidiary.

The company has been restructured as a Nintendo subsidiary responsible for the ancillary-use business tied to films that feature Nintendo Intellectual Property (IP).

Nintendo has announced two upcoming films for theatrical release: a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros. to be released on April 3, 2026, and a live-action film based on the world of The Legend of Zelda to be released on May 7, 2027.

By implementing and licensing various ancillary uses in films, Nintendo Stars Inc. aims to familiarize people around the world with Nintendo IP and provide new ways to experience it.

Nintendo has enjoyed incredible success with its transmedia film adaptations so far, with the Mario movie making an incredible $1 billion in box office sales in less than a month.

The film also considerably boosted sales of Mario games on the Nintendo Switch, which is ultimately the main goal.